Deck 20: C: Challenges to the Global Environment

Question 1

Discuss the five main issues raised by a deeper understanding of the interplay between society's energy needs and environmental sustainability as a result of the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010.

Answer 1

First,the oil spill calls into question the idea that all problems can be overcome by technology and human ingenuity.The inability of the world's leading experts (in industry and government)to stop the spill confirms that we may not be as smart as we think.
Second,the oil spill has led some experts to question whether North America will be able to satisfy its growing energy needs without triggering other environmental catastrophes.For example,geologists in the 1970s pointed out that at some point easily accessible oil will run out.According to this theory,as oil becomes harder to get,oil companies will take more risks to reach it,including deep-sea drilling (e.g. ,the Gulf of Mexico,off the coast of Newfoundland,or Europe's North Sea),from oil sands (like the ones in Northern Alberta),and from oil reserves located underneath vulnerable ecosystems (like Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [ANWR]).
Third,many have questioned the role of government in regulating the energy industry.In this case,BP did not drill a relief well because American law did not require it to.Having a relief well would have prevented the tragedy but such wells are expensive to drill.As a result,many governments,concerned about oil companies taking their business elsewhere (thereby taking jobs and tax dollars with them),soften regulations to promote more drilling but at higher risk.
Fourth,the oil spill will hopefully promote efforts to find an efficient and sustainable replacement for oil.Currently,petroleum is used not only to fuel our cars but to make fertilizers and pesticides for crops,to transport our food,to pave our roads,and to make plastic products.Finding another product as energy-efficient and as versatile as oil has puzzled scientists for decades.Current proposals involve solar,nuclear,wind,hydroelectric,and hydrogen power.However,each technology has its own environmental risks.For example,solar panels require more energy to produce than the energy they return (<BIB>Kuntsler,2006</BIB>).
Finally,the Gulf oil spill has made sociologists question whether the health and economic consequences borne by the citizens of the Gulf Coast are worth the jobs and tax dollars that the oil industry provides in the region.For nearly two generations,Gulf Coast communities have suffered from the environmental pollution and related health complications caused by the oil refineries that dominate the region,giving south Louisiana the nickname "Cancer Alley." Many in the region are now questioning whether the jobs and tax revenue are worth the costs.

Question 2

Using the treadmill of production theoretical approach,explain how environmental racism effects all communities.

Answer 2

Answers will vary,but should include the need for humans to unite in order to either prevent or limit environmental discrimination and the need for women's literacy and participation in discussions on the environment specifically geared toward toxic dumping.Canada's Aboriginal peoples and their proximity to landfill sights,and cycles of self-reinforcing process whereby capitalist interests are served to the exclusion of environmental issues should also be mentioned.

Question 3

Discuss Canada's participation in the Kyoto Protocol.Do you think that the Canadian government should meet its international obligations under Kyoto,even at the possible expense of economic growth and stability? Why or why not?

Answer 3

Climate change took centre stage in 1997 when countries gathered in Kyoto,Japan,to sign the Kyoto Protocol.The protocol's objective was (and still is)to cut greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to prevent climate change.It sought to have countries reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases)by around 5 percent from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.Countries that committed to these terms were expected to comply and to measure their emissions regularly.Canada was one of the original signatories (signing on April 29,1998),but it did not ratify the treaty until December 17,2002.In Canada,the Kyoto Protocol was ratified by a Liberal government,and since taking office the Conservative government has all but forgotten Canada's Kyoto commitments,instead targeting a "made in Canada" solution to greenhouse gases.In April 2007,the federal government laid out its plan to reach Kyoto targets by 2020 or 2025-years after the original date set by the protocol.
In June 2008,Canada became the world's first country to be brought to court for failing to meet its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.The lawsuit,filed by the environmental group Friends of the Earth Canada,is the first to attempt to enforce the terms of the protocol.The group claims that the Canadian government has not fulfilled its legal obligations to address greenhouse gas emissions as defined by the protocol.In March 2010,the Supreme Court decided not to hear the case,effectively stopping any further proceedings.
In 2011,in what appeared to be a move designed to prevent Canada from paying fines for failing to meet its international obligations under Kyoto,the Conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially withdrew Canada from the Kyoto Protocol-a decision sharply criticized within Canada and around the world.In the place of the emission targets set by Kyoto the Canadian government has opted to aim for far lower targets that allow Canada to continue to develop its interests in the Alberta oil sands.

Question 4

Using sociological insights,discuss some of the environmental challenges that are facing Canada.What are some possible solutions to keep environmental damage from continuing?

Question 5

Explain what Fortune magazine meant by "water will be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th" using a uniquely Canadian perspective.

Question 6

You are a small organic farmer working for a co-operative that deals in fair trade goods.A large pharmaceutical company sends a representative to discuss the use of your produce in a cellular regeneration cream.However,it would necessitate your removal from the co-operative and the fair trade system of exchange.Explain this scenario using a theoretical perspective.

Question 7

Develop a research essay in which you examine the ways in which a particular environmental issue (e.g. ,air pollution,water,solid waste,greenhouse gas emissions,biodiversity,etc. )has been depicted in the mainstream media over the past 10 years in Canada.Drawing on your budding sociological sensibility,as well as relevant theoretical perspectives presented in the text,account for the changes in depiction.

Question 8

Explain why "food fascinates sociologists," and give an example of how sociology can help us to understand this vital aspect of human society.

Question 9

Develop an essay in which you critically compare and contrast two of the following theories: treadmill of production;ecological modernization;ecofeminism;or deep ecology.Discuss how these theories would apply to an environmental challenge of your choice.

Question 10

Compare and contrast biocolonialism and environmental racism.What are the environmental implications of both?